Blanford's Fox in Saudi Arabia

Cunningham and Wronski Blanford’s fox in Saudi Arabia

The following is the established format for referencing this article: Cunningham, P.L. and Wronski, T. 2009. Blanford’s fox confirmed in the At-Tubaiq Protected Area (northern Saudi Arabia) and the Ibex Reserve (central Saudi Arabia). Canid News 12.4 [online] URL: http://www.canids.org/canidnews/12/Blanfords_fox_in_Saudi_Arabia.pdf.

Distribution Update

Blanford’s fox confirmed in the At-Tubaiq Protected Area (northern Saudi Arabia) and the Ibex Reserve (central Saudi Arabia)

Peter L. Cunningham 1* and Torsten Wronski 1

1King Khalid Wildlife Research Centre, Thumamah, P. O. Box 61681, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Ara- bia and the Zoological Society of London.

* Correspondence author: Email: [email protected]

Keywords: Saudi Arabia, At-Tubaiq Protected Area, Ibex Reserve, distribution, range extension, Blanford’s fox, Vulpes cana

Abstract Afghanistan, Pakistan and India and only recently noted to occur on the Arabian Peninsula (Kingdon 1990; Nader 1990; Al-Khalili 1993; Confirmed – new records – of Blanford’s fox Roberts 1997). Arabian specimens have been Vulpes cana from the At-Tubaiq Protected Area recorded from Oman, Israel/Palestine, Saudi in northern Saudi Arabia and the Ibex Reserve Arabia, Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) and the in central Saudi Arabia extends the recognised United Arab Emirates (Mendelssohn et al . range of the species within Saudi Arabia and 1987; Nader 1990; Harrison and Bates 1991; the Arabian Peninsula. Geffen et al. 1992a/b/c; Geffen et al. 1993; Al-

Khalili 1993; Stuart and Stuart 1995; Spalton

and Willis 1999; Llewellyn-Smith 2000; Cun- Introduction ningham and Howarth 2002; Drew 2003; Stu- art and Stuart 2003; Geffen et al. 2004). Blanford’s fox Vulpes cana Blanford, 1877 is a secretive and rarely observed mountain dwell- Ginsberg and MacDonald (1990) suggested ing nocturnal arid-adapted fox that occurs that Blanford’s fox probably occurred along the mountainous periphery of the Ara- throughout suitable habitat in Arabia while bian Peninsula (Geffen et al. 2004). The Geffen et al. (1993) suggested that they have a documented distribution of the Blanford’s fox much larger range than was earlier believed. was originally limited to Central Asia, Iran, Although probably more widespread than

Cunningham and Wronski Blanford’s fox in Saudi Arabia currently documented, it is an understudied approximately 400km inland. It stretches from species – especially in Saudi Arabia – and cur- the north of Riyadh southwards to Uruq bani rently listed as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN M’Arid, approximately 250km north of Najran (IUCN 2009) and has a CITES protection status on the Yemen border where it peters out into of CITES Appendix II (2008). the Empty Quarter. The Ibex Reserve har- bours a small population of reintroduced The aim of this paper is to update the distribu- mountain gazelle ( Idmi ) Gazella gazella and tion of Blanford’s fox in Saudi Arabia by pro- canids confirmed from the area include red viding new locations representing an expan- fox Vulpes vulpes arabica , Arabian wolf Canis sion of their range in northern and central lupus pallipes and occasionally feral dogs Saudi Arabia, including away from the ac- (Child and Grainger 1990; Wronski and Maca- cepted peripheral Arabian Peninsula range. sero 2008).

Figure 1. Map of Saudi Arabia indicating the location of the At-Tubaiq Protected Area (northern Saudi Arabia) and the Ibex Reserve (central Saudi Arabia) (Triangles indicate the approximate positions of the Blanford’s fox sightings in the Protected Areas). Stars indicate the approximate positions of the previously reported sightings from south-western Saudi Arabia.

Methods At-Tubaiq Protected Area

The At-Tubaiq Protected Area is an eroded Ibex Reserve sedimentary plateau, demarcated by a low

escarpment from a sandy plain situated adja- The Ibex Reserve is an isolated massive with cent to the northwest international boundary steep walled incised canyons and located ap- with Jordan in northern Saudi Arabia proximately 200km south of Riyadh in the (29°30’N, 37°30E) (Figure 1). It is 12,200km² in Tuwaiq escarpment in central Saudi Arabia size and was established in 1989 for the pro- (23°30’N, 46°00E) (Figure 1). It is 2,369km² in tection of the northern plains and the most size and was established in 1988 for the pro- northern population of Nubian ibex in Saudi tection of the only known relict population of Arabia (Child and Grainger 1990). Domestic Nubian ibex Capra nubiana in the Tuwayq stock can frequently be found within the Pro- Mountains and the central Najd region (Child tected Area. Canids confirmed from the area and Grainger 1990). The Tuwaiq escarpment include red fox, Rüppell’s fox Vulpes rueppelli runs parallel to the Gulf of Arabia in the east, and Arabian wolf (Kingdon 1990; Harrison

Cunningham and Wronski Blanford’s fox in Saudi Arabia and Bates 1991; Wacher and Strauss 2000; Wa- Gulf (Attum 2004) (Figure 3). Of all the trap- cher 2001). ping nights over the last few years using up to a maximum of five cameras, this was the only As part of a larger study on the home range sighting of Blanford’s fox. and territoriality of G. gazella using middens as a possible indicator thereof in the Ibex Re- serve, camera traps were used to photograph Discussion gazelle activities related to middens. Camera trapping using Trailmaster 35mm cameras has been ongoing for a number of years with vari- These Blanford’s foxes photographed in the At-Tubaiq Protected Area (Wacher 2001) and ous size classes of middens under observation. Cameras were also placed at natural springs in the Ibex Reserve (Attum 2004) confirm their the area to photograph gazelle (including ibex) existence in northern Saudi Arabia and the Tuwaiq Mountains of central Saudi Arabia. drinking intervals and population numbers

(Wakefield et al. 2006), and during these pho- A number of species accounts include Blan- tographic trapping sessions opportunistic ford’s fox from Saudi Arabia although very sightings of other species were made. A lim- few confirmed sightings have been docu- ited biodiversity survey conducted mainly to mented. Confirmed sightings from Saudi survey the presence of mountain gazelle in At- Arabia include a road kill 40km southeast of Tubaiq Protected Area also included the use of Biljurshi and a photographed individual at camera traps to confirm the presence of other, Jebal Shada, both sightings in south-western especially nocturnal, wildlife. Saudi Arabia in the Asir Mountains (Harrison and Bates 1991).

Results Maps on the distribution of Blanford’s fox include south-western Saudi Arabia (Kingdon During November 2001 a Blanford’s fox indi- 1990; Harrison and Bates 1991; Geffen et al. vidual with black tail tip was photographed at 2004) with Geffen et al. (2004) including the night in Wadi Asharat in the At-Tubaiq Pro- entire western mountainous region of Saudi tected Area, approximately 350km inland from Arabia from the Yemen border up to the Jor- the Red Sea (Wacher 2001) (Figure 2a,b). danian border as suspected range.

During 2004 an individual Blanford’s fox with The Blanford’s fox sighting from the At- black tail tip was photographed at night in Tubaiq Protected Area in northern Saudi Ara- Wadi Mutam (Ghaba) in the Ibex Reserve, ap- bia falls within the suspected range as proximately 400km inland from the Arabian

Figure 2a,b. Blanford’s fox photographed in the At-Tubaiq Protected Area in northern Saudi Arabia (Wacher 2001).

Cunningham and Wronski Blanford’s fox in Saudi Arabia

Figure 3. Blanford’s fox photographed in the Ibex Reserve in central Saudi Arabia (Attum 2004).

indicated by Geffen et al. (2004) – i.e. the west- include them in the System Plans for these ern mountainous region of Saudi Arabia – and areas. The At-Tubaiq Protected Area Master Ginsberg and MacDonald (1990) – i.e. suitable Management Plan (Seddon and Khan 1996) habitat. However, the Blanford’s fox sighting and subsequent surveys in 1997 (Robertson et from the Ibex Reserve is viewed as a range al. 1997) and Wacher and Strauss (2000) in the extension from its known range in the Asir At-Tubaiq Protected Area also make no men- Mountains in south-western Saudi Arabia tion of Blanford’s fox. With the exception of eastwards to central Saudi Arabia, a distance the records from the Asir Mountains in south- of approximately 800km inland (400km from western Saudi Arabia no other sightings have the Arabian Gulf). The closest other con- been documented from Saudi Arabia although firmed sightings (except for the At-Tubaiq this is an understudied species with very few Protected Area individual – this report) are biodiversity surveys having been conducted from the Jebal Samhan (Dofar region) area throughout the Kingdom, especially true for north of Salalah in southern Oman (Harrison the rugged, often inaccessible, mountainous and Bates 1991; Spalton and Willis 1999) and regions. With these confirmed sightings from the limestone inselberg – Jebal Hafit – in northern Saudi Arabia as well as the Tuwaiq south-eastern United Arab Emirates (Drew Mountains in central Saudi Arabia, Blanford’s 2003) as well as other mountainous wadis in fox is expected to occur more widespread the UAE (Stuart and Stuart 1995; Cunningham throughout the mountainous areas of Saudi and Howarth 2002), all these areas approxi- Arabia, including the central Tuwaiq escarp- mately 1,000km away, respectively. These last ment. mentioned areas are separated from the Tu- waiq Mountains by the Rub al Khali or Empty The status of Blanford’s fox from Saudi Arabia Quarter, the largest inland sand see in the is unknown, but it would be reasonable to as- world thus denying potential movement of sume that they are widespread throughout the Blanford’s fox between the Tuwaiq Mountains mountainous areas although their densities eastwards and southwards. are not high. As any other carnivore they would be indiscriminately persecuted as live- Blanford’s fox was not thought to occur in the stock predators or included as collateral dam- Ibex Reserve or the At-Tubaiq Protected Area age during the poisoning of carcasses target- when first established as protective areas in ing other predators, a major concern for the 1988/89 as Child and Grainger (1990) did not species. Although carnivores were not specifi-

Cunningham and Wronski Blanford’s fox in Saudi Arabia cally targeted during the camera trapping ses- References sions in the Ibex Reserve, the fact that so few photographic sightings of them were made Al-Khalili, A. D. 1993. Ecological Review and over the years in an intensively studied area the Distribution of Blanford's Fox Vulpes cana such as the Ibex Reserve probably indicates Blanford, 1877 (Mammalia: Carnivora: Cani- low densities of this species. However, the dae). Fauna of Saudi Arabia 13: 390–396. possibility does exist that they occur at higher densities than currently expected in more fa- Attum, O. 2004. Ibex Reserve: Wildlife biolo- vourable habitats – i.e. talus slopes, at the base gist final report – April 2004. Unpublished of cliffs and inaccessible smaller rocky wadis. Internal report, King Khalid Wildlife Research This could however be confirmed with tar- Centre, Thumamah, Saudi Arabia. geted photographic and physical trapping for this species. Child, G. and Grainger, J. 1990. A System Plan The black tail tip of the photographed indi- for Protected Areas for Wildlife Conservation viduals differs from the Arabian red fox, a and Sustainable Rural development in Saudi congeneric in the Ibex Reserve and the At- Arabia – Appendix II. NCWCD, Riyadh, Saudi Tubaiq Protected Area, which have a white Arabia. 335 pp. tail tip and Rüppell’s fox, which does not oc- CITES 2008. CITES Appendices I, II and III. cur in the rocky Ibex Reserve, also having a http://www.cites.org white tail tip (Kingdon 1990; Nader 1990; Har- rison and Bates 1991; Duckworth 1996). Ac- Cunningham, P.L. and Howarth, B. 2002. cording to Roberts (1997) the tip of the tail of Notes on the distribution and diet of Bland- Blanford’s fox is generally black, but may be ford’s fox, Vulpes cana Blandford, 1877 from white in some specimens. In the United Arab the United Arab Emirates. Zoology in the Mid- Emirates approximately 20% of Blanford’s fox dle East 27: 21-28. trapped, photographed and encountered as road kills have been known to have white Drew, C. 2003. A report on a preliminary eco- tipped tails (Llewellyn-Smith 2000; Cunning- logical and environmental survey of Jebel ham and Howarth 2002). Hafeet. Unpublished Internal Report, Envi- These opportunistic sightings of Blanford’s fox ronmental Agency – Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, in new regions emphasise the importance of United Arab Emirates. biodiversity surveys in protected areas throughout Saudi Arabia. An increased Duckworth, W. 1996. Land mammals of Abu knowledge of the overall biodiversity can as- Dhabi. In: Osborne, P.E. (ed.) 1996. Desert sist wildlife managers in effectively managing ecology of Abu Dhabi – a review and recent protected areas. More information on the dis- studies. Pisces Publications, Newbury UK. 236 tribution and population densities of Blan- pp. ford’s fox would undoubtedly assist wildlife managers and decision makers in determining Geffen, E., Hefner, R., MacDonald, D.W. and the conservation status of this little known Ucko, M. 1992a. Diet and foraging behaviour species from Saudi Arabia. of the Blanford’s fox, Vulpes cana , in Israel. Journal of Mammalogy 73: 395–402.

Geffen, E., Hefner, R., MacDonald, D.W. and Acknowledgements Ucko, M. 1992b. Habitat selection and home range in the Blanford’s fox, Vulpes cana : com- We hereby acknowledge H.H. Prince Bandar patibility with the resource dispersion hy- bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud, Secretary pothesis. Oecologia 91: 75–81. General, NCWCD for his continued support towards conservation efforts in Saudi Arabia. Geffen, E., Hefner, R., MacDonald, D.W. and Our appreciation also goes to Ernest Robinson Ucko, M. 1992c. Morphological adaptations (Director KKWRC, Thumamah) for comment- and seasonal weight changes in Blanford’s fox, ing on a draft of this note. Vulpes cana . Journal of Arid Environments 23: 287–292.

Cunningham and Wronski Blanford’s fox in Saudi Arabia

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Cunningham and Wronski Blanford’s fox in Saudi Arabia

Torsten Wronski is currently an ecologist at King Khalid Wildlife Research Centre in Saudi Arabia, studying the ecology of re-introduced mountain gazelles Gazella gazella in the Ibex Reserve in central Saudi Arabia. Previously he worked in Uganda and published extensively on the behavioural ecology and social organi- sation of the bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus . Most recently he carried out a post-doctoral study at the University of Hamburg, Ger- many, working on the biogeography of East and Central African land snails.